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W9 poll -- best expansion franchise

W9 poll -- best expansion franchise

Both Jacksonville
-- featured in this week's spotlight matchup with Dallas -- and Carolina both
had recent success as expansion franchises, but they aren't the only nascent
league members to get up to speed in a hurry. We've chosen four fast-learning
franchises from NFL history -- which expansion team was
the best? We set out the criteria -- early success, playoff
berths and longevity should be weighed equally-- and let you decide. Don't
forget to check out our previous poll results from Weeks
One-Eight.

The
Jags joined the league in 1995 and established themselves as credible
competitors immediately. Though they dropped their opener to the
Houston Oilers, 10-3, Jacksonville's 4-12 record in its initial
campaign was one more than any previous first-year team. In addition,
their 4-4 divisional mark was an expansion a record. But 1996 proved
to be even more stunning. The Jags made the AFC playoffs before
shocking Buffalo and Denver by identical 30-27 scores behind the
heroics of Mark Brunell. New England finally ended the second-year
group's magical run in the AFC Championship game. Since then, Tom
Coughlin -- the franchise's lone coach -- has led the team to two AFC
Central titles in three years.

Carolina
Panthers

Kerry
Collins

As
amazing as expansion brethren Jacksonville's first year was, the
Carolina Panthers outdid the Jags in 1995. Carolina finished at 7-9
in their first-year, shattering the previous mark for wins in an
opening campaign by 4! In 1996, Dom Capers' amazing Panthers
stunned the football world by winning the NFC West with a 12-4 mark,
including a sweep of the 49ers in the regular season. Though the
Packers eventually knocked the Panthers out of the playoffs in the
NFC Championship game, Carolina's two-year opening act may be
unparalleled in football history. Since '96, the Panthers have only
finished at .500 or better once -- an 8-8 mark in 1999.

Tampa
Bay Buccaneers

John
McKay

Remembered
largely for a futile 26-game opening losing streak and a hilarious
head coach (John McKay), it's easy to forget the success of the
expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa went 0-14 in 1976, its initial
season, and would lose 12 more to open 1977 before knocking off New
Orleans for the team's first win. But after finishing '77 at 2-12 and
'78 at 5-11, Tampa stopped the laughing by winning the NFC Central in
1979 with a 10-6 mark. Led by future Hall of Fame DE Lee Roy Selmon
and QB Doug Williams, the Bucs advanced to the NFC Championship game,
where they fell to Los Angeles, 9-0. Tampa built on this early
success in 1981 by claiming a second division crown. The recent Bucs
have returned to prominence by advancing to a second conference title
game in 1999.

Dallas
Cowboys

Tom
Landry

Dallas
entered the NFL as an expansion franchise in 1960 under the
leadership of coach Tom Landry. The Cowboys did not experience the
immediate success of the aforementioned teams, finishing 0-11-1,
4-9-1, 5-8-1, 4-10, 5-8-1, and 7-7 in their first six years. But
beginning in 1966, Dallas strung together 20 straight winning
seasons, including 18 playoff berths, 13 division titles, five Super
Bowl appearances, and two Super Bowl titles (VI and XII). So while
the Cowboys' success didn't arrive as early, it proved to be more
lasting -- the team added three more Super Bowl titles in the
'90s.